It has long been recognised that children and those over 65 are typically more susceptible to getting the flu. But why?
The Doctors Hastings GP Dr Kevin Choy said they generally saw more of these two demographics as they have "more serious conditions which predispose them to come to see us more often".
"School aged children are more susceptible obviously in classrooms and when one child gets the flu, it spreads really quickly through the droplets in the air."
He said the older population were already more prone to sickness, hence why the flu combined with their underlying health conditions including heart disease and respiratory illnesses made them sicker faster.
"Whereas the healthy group between 18 years to the late 50s tend to know that while they are unwell, they are not bad enough to really need to go and see their GP, so they stay at home drink lots of water, and tend to get better.